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The Black Prince cicada can be found along the full eastern coast and hinterland of Australia. It is prolific in many forested areas in the wormer months and when it inadvertently falls or flies into the water more often than not provides a big protein rich snack for a range of fish species including bass, perch, saratoga and many other fresh water species.

This fly sits well into the surface film like the natural and has a very realistic profile when viewed from below. I have made it smaller than the natural on purpose as flies tied as big as the natural are frustratingly cumbersome to cast on #8 weight outfits that are my preference of the target species mentioned above. The fly lands with a good audible fish attracting 'plop' and with its outstretched wings that are only about half as long as the natural still wiggle with the slightest movement in a very enticing way.

Any time you can hear that raspy crescendo of cicadas in the background it's worth tying a cicada pattern on.

I am a firm believer in matching the hatch and to achieve that I dress the same fly in different colours to represent other cicadas that I come across including Green Grocers, Cherry Nose cicadas and Yellow Sundays.

Materials

Process

SET UP	The first thing you will need is a section of two layered closed cell foam. I have selected 2mm black foam for the underside and 1mm light brown foam for the top side to make the finished fly a little easier to see in the shadows. The two layers of foam have been glued together using Bostik contact adhesive but almost any contact glue will do. Cut a length of closed cell foam which is as wide as the gape of the hook and twice the length of the hook with a blunt V at one end.

A	Starting just a little way back from the eye of the hook wind the thread to the bend of the hook in tight touching turns. Tie a length of Estaz chenille in at the bend of the hook. Wind the thread forward to half way up the shank of the hook. Understanding hooks

B	Wind the Estaz chenille forward in tight touching turns. I like to stroke the fibers of Estaz chenille back between each turn so as to ensure that none of the Estaz chenille is trapped by the next wrap. Tie the Estaz chenille off but do not trim the excess. Either using dubbing or a little bit of wool thread build up a cigar shaped under-body between the half way mark and the 90% position on the hook shank.

C	Prepare a set of plastic bead eyes. The bead chain I use costs about $1 a meter at most haberdashery shops such as Spotlight or Lincraft. For this fly I need a fairly wide set of eyes so using a pointed set of pliers I leave the first bead then pinch off the next three beads and then cut the eyes from the length of bead chain.

D	Put a couple of drops of super glue on the top of the under-body of the fly Just in front of the Estaz chenille body. Tie the foam in tightly half way up the hook shank and then with just 3 or 4 firm wraps of thread bind it onto the front part of the hook shank to the 90% position. Using a figure of 8 wrap, just behind the eye of the hook, tie the eyes in on top of the tied down closed cell foam.

E	Tie a bunch of of super hair just behind the bead chain eyes.

F	Pull the backward facing super hair forward over the frontward facing super hair and lock it into that position just forward of where it was tied in. Multi hitches by hand

G	Pick up the Estaz chenille last used in step B2 and build up a thick thorax between the half way position and the bead chain eyes.

H	Separate the super hair into to two equal portions and take one half down each side of the thorax of the fly forming wispy wings. Whilst holding the wings in place with one hand pull the foam that is currently in front of the fly and fold it back and over the thorax of the fly to form a wing casing. Now whilst holding the wing casing in place with the hand you pulled it into position with change the grip of the hand that is holding the wings so that it is holding the wing casing in place which in turn is still holding the wings facing out each side of the fly. With the free hand take a couple of tight wraps of the thread at the half way mark locking the wing casing in place. Without losing any tension on the thread take the thread under the thorax of the fly and take a couple of tight wraps directly behind the eye of the fly. Whip finish behind the eye of the hook, trim the excess thread and put a little super glue on the whip finish and where the thread locks the wing casing in place.

I	Load your needle with some round rubber leg material and pierce the body foam on the horizontal to create a leg on the front on one side and facing forward and on the back and facing back on the other side. Legs on flies

J	Repeat that process on the opposite horizontal so that now you have a leg facing forward on each side and a leg facing back on each side.

K	Pull the legs off to one side and add a tiny drop of super glue to the newly exposed bit of leg on the one side. Pull the rubber legs back into place from the short side making sure that they are again relatively equal in length.

L	Cicada have 6 legs and generally the front legs face out in front of the insect and perform the dual function of legs and hands. Again load you needle with some round rubber leg material and pierce the face of the fly from one side with the point of the hook poking through the head and out the skull of the fly on the opposite side. That's one leg/arm. .

M	Repeat that process creating a leg/arm on the other side of the fly. Put a drop of super where each leg/arm come through the skull and trim away the excess rubber. Carefully manipulate the fly and make any final trimmings so that you have two similar legs on each side and similar leg/arms in front of the fly on opposite sides and a backward facing wings on each side. These wings are only about half as long as the wings on the natural but they create an action point where the fish are expecting the wings to be laying on a drowning cicada.

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